Many women find dressing for work especially challenging in summer. I’m not necessarily among them, but I see how one could feel like this. Especially in a more conservative environment, it can be difficult to strike the right balance between staying cool and looking professional.*

I do realise that I cannot offer a dress as a solution to all life’s problems. However, often it really DOES happen to be an excellent solution, summer office dressing being a case in point. More specifically, I suggest a white dress. I know, white dresses don’t have the greatest of reputations, as they are considered to be high maintenance and potentially too bridal, too beachy or too tacky. On the other hand, if you’re blessed with a hot summer, wearing a white dress has its clear advantages.

The obvious thing to do is to avoid things that look bridal, beachy or tacky. A somewhat structured silhouette goes a long way to address the beachiness issue and if you keep the length at least to the knee and the fit not too tight, tackiness shouldn’t be a problem either. You should be safe from being mistaken for a bride in a work dress, unless you opt for lace and flowers in your hair. If you’re like me and cannot keep your clothes looking neat and tidy, cream is a much better option than a blinding white.

The dress I’m wearing on the pictures is by H&M Studio and pretty close to my ideal summer office dress: off-white, knee-length, with a relatively relaxed fit and modest cut (considering my usual standards), but still cool enough for very warm days. I like that the fabric has an interesting texture that makes it less intimidating and potential stains less visible. Worn with kitten heels, it looks downright demure** (***): not a look I usually go for, but why not? I also own another white dress – and a matching coat – that is great for somewhat colder days and has already been featured on the blog.

How do you feel about summer, white dresses, workwear and different combinations of the three?

*Do spare a thought for poor men, though. It is one of those very few occasions under patriarchy where guys totally have drawn the short straw.
**As Stephen Fry notes in his Mythos, ‘demure’ is probably not a word most women want to be described by. However, if you are as far from demure as I am, looking the part can be kind of exciting.
***And maybe a tiny bit bridal? Definitely not tacky, though.

Dress by H&M Studio (it was sent to me by the brand after I had tried and failed to buy it myself), shoes by Dior, MUAH by Grete Madisson, pictures by Liina Jasmin.